NSB(i)
12 Let those who live in distant lands give praise and glory to Jehovah!
13 Jehovah goes out to fight like a warrior. He is ready and eager for battle. He gives a war cry, a battle shout and he shows his power against his enemies.
14 »I kept silent for a long time. I did not answer my people. The time to act has come. I cry out like a woman in labor.
15 »I will destroy the hills and mountains and dry up the grass and trees. I will turn the river valleys into deserts and dry up the pools of water.
16 »I will lead my blind people by roads they have never traveled. I will turn their darkness into light and make rough country smooth before them. I will keep my promises without fail.«
17 Those who trust in idols and call images their gods will be humiliated and disgraced.
18 Jehovah says: »Hear, you deaf people! Look closely, you who are blind!«
19 Is anyone more blind than my servant or more deaf than the messenger I send?
20 Israel, you have seen so much, but what has it meant to you? You have ears to hear with, but what have you really heard?
21 Jehovah is a God who is eager to save. He exalted his laws and teachings, and he wanted his people to honor them.
22 Now his people have been plundered. They are locked up in dungeons and hidden away in prisons. They were robbed and plundered, with no one to come to their rescue.
23 Will any of you listen to this? From now on will you listen with care?
24 Who gave Israel up to the looters? It was Jehovah, against whom we sinned! We would not live as he wanted us to live or obey the teachings he gave us.
25 So he made us feel the force of his anger and suffer the violence of war. Like fire his anger burned throughout Israel. Yet we never knew what was happening. We learned nothing at all from it.